The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today said it wanted 'action, not debate' on the recommendations made in its annual report.

Suhakam chairperson Abu Talib Othman said it would be pointless to debate the report in Parliament if the authorities do not take the recommendations seriously.

"It is more effective I think that even without the debate, the government takes action and recognises some of the recommendations that we made in our report.

"The bottom line is we want action, not debate. Parliamentarians as we know can talk for hours," he told a press conference at the commission's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Abu Talib said this when asked to comment on the government's decision not to allot a specific time to debate the Suhakam report, which was tabled last Monday, in Parliament.

The Suhakam chief reiterated that the commission fulfilled its task by submitting an annual report to the Parliament and the decision to debate it rested entirely with the government.

In its annual report, Suhakam, among others, urged the government to respond positively to its proposals and expressed concern that draft legislation has never been referred to Suhakam for advice.

'Give them a chance'

Abu Talib also refuted the claim that the government completely ignored recommendations put forward by the commission.

He said recommendations pertaining to the police force have been heeded, and cited the move to initiate reform to the remand system as an example.

Others included the pledge by the police to investigate 'lock-up deaths' within a month and to hold inquests in such cases.

"It is not that they ignore our recommendations, give them a chance," said the commission chairperson.

In another development, Abu Talib said Suhakam will decide at its commissioners meeting next Monday on whether to launch a public inquiry into the allegations raised by Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees of being abused at police remand centres.

He added that the commission will not start an inquiry into every request made by rights groups but only in cases where there have been clear cases of human rights violations.

Earlier, Abu Talib held an hour-long closed-door meeting with a DAP delegation led by the party's chairperson Lim Kit Siang.

Also present was Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

According to Abu Talib, the opposition leaders aired their concerns about police action and cases of human rights violations.